Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the German Shepherd Dog Forums forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Additional Options

Miscellaneous Options

Automatically parse links in text

Automatically embed media (requires automatic parsing of links in text to be on).

Automatically retrieve titles from external links

Topic Review (Newest First)

04-19-2014 02:53 PM

Wild Wolf

Another recommendation here for Gemini K9. Pando Stepanis from Olympus K9 also does dog evaluations for those deemed "dangerous" by by-law and for other owners who need their dogs evaluated. I've seen him evaluate two dogs and they were quite accurate evaluations.

Please check out Gemini K9. I have heard ONLY great things about this group. A friend of mine trains there and loves it.

04-19-2014 01:36 PM

carmspack

Toronto has a lot of by laws . I think the dog was in the front yard and there are definite height and material limitations to front yard fencing. Front yard for an urban dog with people rightfully passing by on the sidewalk is going to encourage the dog to make prey drive on them , excite him even more. He focuses on them approaching , gets into ready mode, barks and then gets satisfied when they carry on and walk away , or act surprised and quicken their pace . Even better in the dog's mind .
You know in the city , Toronto, you have to have safe access to your front door .

Costco has seasonal sales of AKC approved kennels which are really sharp looking and very well built and economical . I am looking out for one myself , so if I do see them I can let you know .

Next is are you willing to invest the time for handler training? Take Carmen up on her suggestion for an eval. A good trainer is going to work with your dog AND you, especially in aggression cases.

Next suggestion is some changes to the property. Fencing - at minimum 5 ft, preferably 6 ft or higher. Tying a dog like this out - as you found out - is only a matter of time before something happens. It doesn't have to be the full yard. Gates should have locks. Since you have nieces that come over, I would do something like a large run to the side or back half of the property that does NOT include the back door to avoid the kids accidentally going outside while he is in the yard. If he has to be inside while they are there, he is crated. He should be muzzle trained, so that when needed, he won't fight wearing a muzzle.

04-19-2014 12:03 PM

carmspack

There are trainers and then there are "trainers".

Sometimes when I hear who the trainers are, or some of the advice given, I shake my head . Honestly , some have no experience, no business , to take on problem dogs , some not even basic training.

That's sad for you, I know how attached to him you must be. If you're doing this for him, you're a wonderful person to put the pup first. This is a hurdle, at this age, while they're still young and foolish. This is probably the most challenging stage: after the landshark, and the older puppy - like when you got him.

My first GSD hated children too, and he was an adult when I adopted him. But I knew he didn't like them, and I kept them apart, and I didn't have kids anywhere near me IRL, so it was simple. You don't have it that easy. But before you find him a new home, please be more careful with him. Please don't leave him tied up outside where he can be a danger to himself, and to others. This is really serious, when he's nipping people (anyone can come up to him) or he's fighting dogs (same thing can happen). You need to be aware that with the DOLA, your pup can be seized and PTS if something happens, please don't leave him unattended any more.

04-19-2014 10:49 AM

Sunflowers

Where did you get this dog?

04-19-2014 10:47 AM

Elif

I live outside of Toronto. I have used two different types of trainers, one for obedience and socializing and he told me never to have the dog out without a muzzle on him. My second trainer works with german shepherds and he is the trainer who got my dog to play with another dog really well. He indicated that it was my energy causing the problems because I was anxious about the dog biting. He did not feel my dog had a real aggression problem. I have made improvements on how I work with him and continue to try to burn his energy off as much as possible before going into situations where he'll be around dogs or kids. I have two nieces who I used to have over at least on a weekly basis and now don't have them here hardly at all because I just can't trust him with them. I have had them repeatedly give him treats and sit calmly and not touch him or make eye contact and I've kept them separated so that I'm not anxious and he can see its okay that they are here, and he still repeatedly lunges and growls and snaps at them. As for the woman walking by, he was tied up outside to play and broke off his chain and nipped her in the butt. I could hear him bark and could tell he was close enough to something to attack so I ran outside and got to him before he could do anything and the woman responded really well (thank god) so he stopped. A few days earlier he was playing outside and a neighbours shepherd got loose and came to our property and he fought it.
Its just hard because he is so good with me, and I've got him so that when I'm right with him I can control him but he's too unpredictable otherwise, so I can't trust him in so many situations. I do realize that I am most likely the problem here, which is why I'm looking for homes that would be better for him.

04-19-2014 10:17 AM

Nigel

Are you sure its aggression and not an excited or anxious dog?

04-19-2014 10:04 AM

Blanketback

I feel really bad for you, being in this situation. Where in Ontario are you located? There are some very knowledgeable members here from Ontario, so they might have an idea for you.

Why did your pup nip the woman? Is your pup truly aggressive, or just lacking in training? PLEASE don't take that as an insult, like I'm implying you haven't tried, since you even wrote that you've had outside training help - it's just that I know young GSDs can be a handful, and I also know some trainers are nothing more than dog lovers, and that's not helpful in many cases. Hugs, I know this must be heartbreaking for you!

This thread has more than 10 replies.
Click here to review the whole thread.